Healthcare executives from across the globe gathered earlier this week at the FT Global Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Conference in London, where they assessed the current state of the global healthcare industry and predicted what the future may hold, specifically what it will be like in 2020.
As part of the two day conference put on by the Financial Times in association with Deloitte, The Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions released a new report titled, "Healthcare and Life Sciences Predictions 2020: A bold future?"
It is based on trends and events and according to the report itself is, "deliberately challenging about the future world, perhaps even provocative. Our work draws on observations of trends, events and small but bold steps that – if accelerated through to the year 202 and beyond – paint a picture of a world that is very different from today."
The 10 predictions for 2020 are:
1. Health consumers: They are informed, and demanding patients are now partners in their own healthcare
2. Health care delivery systems: The era of digitized medicine -- new business models drive new ideas
3. Wearables and mHealth applications: Measuring quality of life, not just clinical indicators
4. Big Data in 2020. Health data is pervasive – requiring new tools and provider models.
5. Regulation: They will reflect the convergence of technology and science.
6. Research and development: The networked laboratory - partnerships and big data amidst new scrutiny.
7. The pharmaceutical commercial model: Local is important but with a shift from volume to value.
8. The pharmaceutical enterprise configuration - the back office: Single, global and responsible for insight enablement.
9. New business models in emerging markets: Still emerging, but full of creativity for the world.
10. Impact of behaviors on corporate reputation: A new dawn of trust.
The full 45-page report goes into specifics on each of these sections using charts, data and other graphics.
An analyzation of the conference's hashtag -- #FTPharma -- on social media reveals a global healthcare system that is on the brink of change, but only if everyone can come together on the same page.
Technology is a large part of progress when it comes to the future of every aspect of the healthcare industry, starting with new product development all the way to the patient. A new term was coined to refer to this area of growth – Electroceuticals.
But, while technology and innovation is something the industry needs to move forward and progress, it seems many are leery when it comes to this area.
Kara Nesburg Dennis summed it up best in this tweet, "@polarcapitol 'more smartphones than toothbrushes' will drive patient empowerment and healthcare disruption #FTPharma @Medidata."
Many live tweets coming from the conference also centered on the smartphone, with one from the Financial Times Live tweeting, "The smartphone is becoming the gateway to healthcare, Daniel Mahoney, Polar Capital tells #FTpharma."
More insights from the conference can be found on Twitter by searching #FTPharma, or by clicking here.
